It seems that far too often these days I am writing to express my sadness and disappointment with tragic events happening in our world. The shootings that occurred this past weekend in Florida are in sharp contrast to all the good news I have had to share lately, and have all of us thinking one thing…how? How could a human being do this to their fellow human beings? How could someone be that misguided and filled with so much hate for people who are trying to live their truth, in community and for love? And maybe, most importantly, how can we live in a world when these type of things happen far too often?

I wish I had the answers, but as I have said before, in the face of tragic events like these, it is incredibly powerful to do what Villanovans do best, and that is come together as a community. Let us pray together that these tragic incidents stop occurring. I also encourage you to join together to discuss how we can help prevent senseless events like these from happening again and how we can strive to live Jesus' command to love our neighbor as ourselves. I hope each of you, particularly our alumni, family and friends who are in and around Orlando, gain strength and hope from these actions.
We have many current students and alums who hail from Florida and the Orlando area. I hope that they, and all of their families and friends, are safe and were unharmed in this terrible incident. Please know that the thoughts and prayers of the entire Villanova community are with you.